Fire watch in place at two Newbury apartment blocks
BBCA 24-hour fire watch has been put in place at two apartment buildings at Newbury Racecourse over concerns about a material in their walls.
Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service (RBFRS) has said it had been notified of "defects in the external wall" of both Chatham House and Carruthers Court.
Barratt Redrow, which constructed the buildings, said it is peer-reviewing a recent assessment of Chatham House.
Newbury Racecourse, which is the freeholder for the buildings, says "the safety of residents is the primary concern" and to ensure that "any relevant defects that may be established are remediated".
Concerns were raised after a discovery during an inspection at Chatham House which led to the Royal Berkshire fire and Rescue Service informing Common Ground, the management company for Carruthers Court, that a test on its building may be necessary.
Following this Common Ground had its own survey conducted on April 24th and, while the report has not yet been officially completed, it was indicated to them that the building was almost certain to fail.
Five days later Common Ground passed this information on to the RBFRS which initially advised it to shut the building down. After conversations with the racecourse a waking watch began the same day and Carruthers Court stayed open.
A waking watch is when specialist trained staff continuously patrol inside and outside to monitor fire risks.
RBFRS said in a statement "The service is engaging with the responsible persons for both buildings and appropriate fire safety measures are in place.
"RBFRS's number one priority is the safety of residents and the service will continue to proactively engage with responsible persons to ensure that they meet their statutory obligations."
The fire service also says that it is working with the people responsible for Bregawn House, which neighbours Carruthers Court and Chatham House and was built at the same time, to investigate the external wall on that building.
Alan Draper, manager director of Common Ground, says: "There's nothing to say that the building is in any immediate danger but whilst we await the outcome of the report the fire brigade obviously have concerns about this which is why, presumably, they acted to try and shut the building but obviously, with the waking watch in place, residents are perfectly safe and they're able to continue living in their building."
In a statement Newbury Racecourse said it "acted in accordance with the Building Safety Act and various fire safety regulations and will continue to do so to ensure that the buildings are safe".
"The priority is of course to ensure that any relevant defects that may be established are remediated and the costs of any such works are recovered from the entities responsible for the relevant defects, and both Newbury Racecourse and the management companies are in communication with such entities regarding the costs of any remediation works that may be necessary."
Barrat Redrow which constructed the buildings said in a statement: "Barratt Redrow is committed to ensuring all necessary and relevant issues identified in the original construction are remediated with no costs being passed on to leaseholders."
